Monthly Archives: June 2021

People With Disabilities Have A Complicated Relationship With Positivity – Forbes

Posted: June 28, 2021 at 9:46 pm

Positivity

The only disability in life is a bad attitude. - Attributed to figure skater Scott Hamilton.

When you search this quote on Google the first thing you will see is a collection of pictorial memes, featuring the quote, most of them alongside images of visibly disabled people in some impressive activity usually some kind of athletics or physical feat. Whether or not it was originally meant as a comment about disability and disabled people, the quote has been widely used to promote the idea that adopting a positive attitude can overcome a disability or the problems of having a disability.

On the other hand

You know, no amount of smiling at a flight of stairs has ever made it turn into a ramp. Never. Smiling at a television screen isnt going to make closed captions appear for people who are deaf. No amount of standing in the middle of a bookshop and radiating a positive attitude is going to turn all those books into Braille. - April 2014 TED Talk, Im not your inspiration, thank you very much, by Stella Young.

One of the hardest things for disabled people to explain to people who arent disabled is our frequently negative reactions to positive sentiments and approaches.

There is already a more general objection that the common-sense values of optimism and everyday kindness too often become a more explicit and specific system of magical thinking like the idea of manifesting what you want or need in life purely through thought exercises. You dont have to be disabled to take some of the more extreme wellness and motivational fads with a shaker full of salt.

But for disabled people in particular, positivity is an especially mixed bag.

Of course, the advantages of positivity are obvious next to the implied alternative.

While persistent pessimism can easily lead to depression and a debilitating sense of futility and nihilism, optimism can be energizing and motivating. When enough of your goals come to seem impossible, its easy to lapse into emotional depression, and even nihilism, the belief that nothing really matters. If you believe you can accomplish something, its easier to work through the efforts needed to succeed. If you fundamentally feel that your efforts are futile, its harder to maintain the effort.

Positivity is also just a more pleasant mindset to have, at least superficially and temporarily.

Most people prefer a positive, hopeful mood over depression, hopelessness, or unhappiness. And some people do find that they can will themselves into a more positive mindset, or at least fortify their mood to better face hard tasks or difficult situations.

Its also usually easier to get along with people, and be accepted and liked, if you have a positive outlook and cheerful demeanor.

Just as people generally prefer to be happy, most find it more pleasant to be around other people who are happy, or at least kind, upbeat, and easygoing. And one way a disabled person can put non-disabled people who are uncomfortable with disability at ease is to come across as least superficially nice and unbothered.

Finally, some disabled people coming from especially dire and debilitating situations do find a conscious philosophy of positivity to be liberating, even life-saving.

If you have been ridiculed, bullied, and abused for much of your life, adopting positive thinking as a conscious strategy can be an effective lifeline. If you are coping with a new and sudden disability like spinal cord injury or the onset of vision or hearing loss then it can be essential to keep your spirits up and, if necessary, force yourself to envision a happy and independent life ahead.

But despite all of these advantages, the limitations and drawbacks of making positivity a deliberate stance are significant. The limitations and possible harms of certain kinds of positivity have even acquired a name: toxic positivity. When twisted and elevated over all other values and approaches, relentless positivity can be especially insidious for people with disabilities.

Most obviously, positive thinking and self-affirmation does little to confront the uniquely concrete, physical barriers people with disabilities face.

This is the root of Stella Youngs TED Talk assertion. Disabled people face barriers that are physical, not just emotional or attitudinal. We face stairs, curbs and narrow doorways, speech we cannot hear, text we cannot read, information we cant fully decipher. Positivity and optimism may sometimes help remove these barriers, but the right attitude alone is never enough. Barrier removal and accommodations require expertise, collaboration, technical means, legal backing, and resources.

Positivity is also often entirely inadequate in the face of serious material deprivation, discrimination, and abuse.

Beyond more obvious physical barriers, many disabled people also experience severe poverty, loss of opportunity, and both physical and emotional abuse. Such circumstances make it exponentially harder to cultivate and maintain a positive outlook. And even when a disabled person in situations like this does manage to muster some hope and optimism, they are unlikely to alter the underlying circumstances.

Even worse, overzealous pursuit of positivity places too much responsibility on the individual disabled person, and takes it off other people and unjust systems.

One of the most toxic side effects of a philosophy of positivity is that when it fails, the implication is that you are to blame. If your positivity didnt bring positive results, then you werent being positive enough. If, for instance, tending to your mental health and consciously choosing a more healthy mindset doesnt cure your chronic illness, then there is a strong implication that you have failed. This feeds into one of the core elements of ableism that people with disabilities are somehow to blame for their conditions, for not sufficiently fixing themselves.

The problem is that many of the people who tout positivity and similar ideas most aggressively seem to take it much too literally. For them its more than a reminder to guard against despair. It is a discipline, a prescription for wellness. And for disabled people it takes on the rigidity of a moral mandate, and the false promise of snake oil.

If youre disabled and dont maintain that positive attitude, you wont succeed. And if your condition is at all ambiguous or emotional in nature and you dont adopt some specific and detailed version of positivity and wellness, then you are malingering and therefore less deserving of compassion or accommodation. It doesnt even have to be explicitly said. Once you believe that positive thinking will fix your problems, then still having problems means you have failed.

Positivity can also be a distraction from necessary and more consistently effective approaches.

If you take the power of positive thinking too literally, you may overlook or even disdain more concrete and immediate steps to improve things, for yourself and others. Sometimes, a bit of seemingly negative advocacy can make a real, positive difference. Sometimes, holding back judgement and being nice means giving up real opportunities to do some good. Its almost always better to treat people with care and basic human respect. But thats not the same thing as tolerating ableism, especially when pointing it out has the potential to correct it.

Finally, positivity is often weaponized to shame and discredit disability advocates and activists.

Almost every disabled person who has ever called out problematic behavior or engaged in advocacy knows what it means to be labeled as angry or negative. Disabled people are especially vulnerable to this. Anger and criticism of inaccessibility, ableism, and injustice is often dismissed not only as counterproductive, but as coming from grief and resentment of our disabilities themselves. In addition to being fundamentally wrong in most cases, branding a disabled person angry and critical, and urging them to be more positive instead is an effective way to silence disabled people and doge the problems we rightly complain about.

So while positivity can certainly be an asset, it isnt a superpower. It cannot by itself create positive outcomes. Disabled people know this better than most. How then should disabled people and our allies approach the allure of positivity and the almost evangelical fervor of its adherents?

1. Be wary of any approach to disability that amounts to little more than a slogan or simplistic meme.

2. Remember that a disabled persons negativity is often a rational response to real problems.

3. Be aware that telling a disabled person they should look on the bright side, stay positive, or even just smile more may actually be more debilitating than encouraging.

3. Dont take ideas like the power of positive thinking too literally, especially when so many of the barriers disabled people face can only be removed with wood, concrete, and persistent advocacy.

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People With Disabilities Have A Complicated Relationship With Positivity - Forbes

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Worlds Most renowned best counter-terrorism expert of all time, The deadliest man alive in the world, Grandmaster Shifuji Shaurya Bhardwaj advances…

Posted: at 9:46 pm

Grandmaster ShifujiShaurya Bhardwaj, the inventor of MITTI System and urban SRTs ( Situation Reaction Tactics), is currently working on his dream projects,Mission Prachand BharatandMission Prahar. Acknowledged as The Worlds Best Commandos Mentor and the Worlds Best Commando Trainer, he aims at equipping everyone with self-defence, self-esteem, and patriotism and believes the way to fight terrorism is to establish a union.

In this article

Aim

What is Mission Prachand Bharat all about?

Mission Prachand Bharatwill use the Gurukul way to educate Indians, which intends to instil good moral values, pride and nationalism, along with Sanatan Vedic military training, disaster management skills and extreme survival tactics. A selfless aim of the mission is to mentor the youth in different practical-based skills, prepare them to be accountable, employable, and generate 50 million jobs for them.

Mission Prahar- His second mission aims at women empowerment and employment.

His second project,Mission Prahar, aims at women empowerment by training a minimum of 10 million women and instilling in them the confidence to protect themselves against various threats. Over four million women have undergone training since 1999, especially in rural India. His Mission Prahar Education and Training Trust are working to mentor 40-50% of trainees to be instructors and generate a respectful living.

Details

Immensely respected, he never shares mentoring services for personal gains.

Unsurprisingly, the Grandmaster has a tremendous following that believes in apolitical patriotism, respect for the Indian Armed Forces, and great respect for a soldiers supreme sacrifice for the holy motherland. The patriots immensely respect Grandmaster Shifuji because he never shares any detail related to his MITTI Systems Freelance Commandos mentoring services for personal or professional branding.

Worlds most modern CI, CT system MITTI

About MITTI SYSTEM: Cost-free mentoring service for the Indian armed forces and Special Forces.

He is the pioneer in the elite commandos mentoring and extreme fitness MITTI boot camps industry. It is a cost-free mentoring service exclusively for the Special Forces, Indian Armed forces, CAPF, and Indian Paramilitary Forces. The confidentiality maintained by him makes this technique unique. It is the most modern armed counter-terrorism system and is considered indigenous Swadeshi Indian customized SRTs.

Information

He completed his Graduation Certification Course and PHD Certification Course from Israel.

Grandmaster Shifuji is the only foreign citizen and the first-ever Indian citizen to have completed the graduation certificate and PhD certificate from Israel in the most lethal counter-insurgency, counter-terrorism, and wholly equipped urban combat.

MITTI System training program is customized for armed close-quarter battles.

The program is customized for armed close-quarter battles with and without SRW or LRW. It focuses on the responsive reflexes, invisible upper body agility, strength, and the rule of NO RULE in armed direct urban warfare. He is one of the worlds top two living legends, the other being the founder & CEO of Caliber 3, Colonel Sharon Gat from Israel.

He offers many customized training programs for police verified civilians.

Grandmaster Shifuji offers many customized training programs, like MITTIHINIT, MITTI martial arts, MITTI Boot Camps, Shifujis Modern Kalaripayattu, and MITTIs Corporate Boot Camps for police verified civilians. He provides an extreme fitness routine, known as ShifujisDesi MITTI Martial Arts, HINIT program for Civil Service provisioner officers and MITTI Systems Law Enforcement training programs. He also has programs for paramilitary forces and Central Armed Police Forces.

He considers himself an ordinary Indian (EkSamanyaBharatiya), is a KallaripayattuGuruswamy.

As a patriot, Grandmaster Shifuji considers himselfEkSamanyaBharatiya, an ordinary Indian citizen. As a freelance commandos mentor, he is an expert on Customized Counter Terrorism, Counter Insurgency, Tactical modern and traditional warfare art forms, and the akhada and desi system. He is a KallaripayattuGuruswamy, one of Verm and MarmaKalaris most excellent expert guru, a Bollywood action designer, and an action consultant.

Filmy connection

He has worked with several prominent Bollywood and Israeli celebrities.

Grandmaster Shifuji is well known for being the mentor, life coach, and master of Tiger Shroff, Ahan Shetty, and Subhan Khan Nadiadwala, SufyanNadiadwala.

As an action consultant and action designer, he has worked with Warda Khan, S. Nadiadwala, and several Israeli filmmakers. He has also worked with prominent Bollywood celebrities like Ajay Devgn, John Abraham,RohitShetty, Shraddha Kapoor, Javed Jaffrey, Nora Fatehi, SudhirBabu etc.

Grandmaster takes inspiration from great revolutionaries Martyr Bhagat Singh, Martys Chandra Shekhar Azad.

Some of his notable missions include MeriMitti, Prachand Bharat Shaurya, Compulsory Military Training, Mission Muzaffarabad, ShahadatSamman, and Jai Hind Bro. Grandmaster Shifuji takes inspiration from revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh, Chandra Shekhar Azad, maintains a similar moustache, and wears clothes with the revolutionaries faces printed. He wants to unite the nation against threats, preparing the youth to be ready for action.

The Living Legend-

Grandmaster ShifujiShaurya Bhardwaj Sir, A Living Legend, A Grand Master on numerous missions for his motherland with The SUPREME Knowledge of customized Counter-Terrorism and Urban Warfare Mitti System. THE DEADLIEST MAN ALIVE IN THE WORLD. The deadliest man in a concrete practice for humanity and against Terrorism. A Grand Master on numerous missions for his motherland with The SUPREME Knowledge of customized Counter-Terrorism and Urban Warfare Mitti System. THE DEADLIEST MAN ALIVE IN THE WORLD. The deadliest man in a concrete practice for humanity and against Terrorism. A Grand Master on numerous missions for his motherland with The SUPREME Knowledge of customized Counter-Terrorism and Urban Warfare Mitti System. THE DEADLIEST MAN ALIVE IN THE WORLD. The deadliest man in a concrete practice for humanity and against Terrorism.Legendary Grandmaster ShifujiShaurya Bhardwaj Sir becomes the Worlds Youngest Inventor of the Most Modern Counter-Terrorism System Mitti System. He is also acknowledged as Worlds Best Commandos Mentor and Worlds Best Commando Trainer.For more information- https://www.mastershifuji.com.

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Worlds Most renowned best counter-terrorism expert of all time, The deadliest man alive in the world, Grandmaster Shifuji Shaurya Bhardwaj advances...

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Rick and Morty Review: Mortiplicity Is the Shows Most Exciting Episode in Years – Yahoo Entertainment

Posted: at 9:46 pm

[Editors Note: The following review contains spoilers for Rick and Morty Season 5, Episode 2, Mortiplicity.]

The multiverse is a concept linked with Rick and Morty more closely than maybe any other show on TV. When troubles brewing, a leap to an alternate reality is almost certainly around the corner. So its equal parts surprising and exciting when the show manages to craft itself an episode-spanning problem thats self-contained. In this weeks Mortiplicity, all that havoc is weirdly both confined to a single idea and sprawling so wide that Rick has to take a quick breather to draw up a diagram and explain. All of it adds up to an exquisite execution of a deceptively simple idea. Its the best the show has been in a while.

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Mortiplicity starts with (what seems like) a standard Smith dining room volley of ambitious plans, family insults, and unexpected visitors. As does happen sometimes, the intruders wipe out the breakfasting quintet before they can even get out of the room. This attack sets off a wave of nested showdowns between Decoy Families (those that Rick has placed in strategic locations) and the families who assume that theyre the ones at the top of the chain, responsible for eliminating all the fake versions of them below.

As these encounters start to complicate themselves, with Decoys making their own Decoys, that chain starts to branch out in the wildest of ways, with links of every size and shape traveling in every direction. Before long, fake Smiths start mutating to the point where they all realize theyre the very thing theyre trying to hunt.

Like last weeks season premiere, Mortiplicity is proof that the show is at its most enjoyable when its paced just right. This doesnt necessarily mean tear through enough plot and branching timelines in a way that will have Reddit timeline constructors going berserk for weeks, but here thats more of a natural byproduct than a driving goal. For as much chaos as there is in this Mandelbrot set of fractal clone warfare, its all outlined in a way thats surprisingly clear to follow despite the overall story going into overdrive. When sets of families are firing lasers at each other across the Smith house (or a version of one, anyway), its easy to identify one as the Living Room set and the other as the Kitchen set. They may have nearly identical personalities, but episode writer Albro Lundy sets up an attacker/defender dynamic in each of these smaller battles that gives purpose to each new wrinkle.

Story continues

Mortiplicity is very careful to only play the Wait, which ones which? card in calculated situations. That the answer is It doesnt matter because theyre all about to get neutralized by an interdimensional molecule zapper certainly helps. (It wouldnt be a top-tier Rick and Morty without a heaping helping of nihilism.) Even in those repetitions, theres a constant escalation happening that gives this episode the perfect kind of forward momentum.

Rick and Morty

Theres also admirable restraint in Mortiplicity by not going after the low-hanging pop-culture clone story fruit. Theres no overextended Michael Keaton riff when the concept of degenerating copy of copies decoys comes up. In line with the rest of the episodes, the quick Westworld/Ex Machina two-fer becomes a way to differentiate between families while also calling out Ricks referential tendencies. If anything, Rick pausing to explain his own Highlander joke is the closest the episode comes to getting sidetracked, but its also being delivered in front of a whiteboard illustration that anyone can choose to unpack instead.

Its no coincidence that one of the shows best episodes in years keeps the entire family together. Maybe its weird to say that every Smith family member gets a chance to shine, given that one of Summers spotlight moments is her slowly plunging a dagger into the chest of someone who looks just like her. Still, seeing Marionette Beth in charge of the underground resistance and Marionette Jerry becoming a breeding ground for a colony of beavers in that truly deranged extended tag are ideal ways to give the usual Rick/Morty dynamic a needed break.

Having four-plus seasons of this show under its belt is also a built-in advantage. The Smith family are no strangers to being confronted with themselves, so Mortiplicity actually ends up benefiting from everyone just going with the premise that people who look like them are bent on their destruction (and that the objective is mutual). With the time that saves, the episode can make room for little treats like the bucket list conversation (on behalf of everyone else who shares your wish, Jerry, we see you and you are loved) and the montage of Decoys all discovering their non-human parts. (Correct me if Im wrong, but how has it taken this long for a Rick to operate on his own brain?)

The skill demonstrated here isnt just in the written setups and payoffs, but in Lucas Grays direction, too. The execution of the Giant Blue Geodesic Hologram Rick (assuming thats what the name of the inevitable Funko Pop is going to be) is as much of a delight as the Leatherface Ricks skin lair is horrifying. (Seriously, between this and that one Hannibal episode, were good on demented torturers slowly separating people from their own flesh plotlines for another decade or so.) The one-two punch of the Sesame Street Smiths existence and the reveal that theyre giant mascot suits as part of a ploy to be too cute to be annihilated is about the point when Mortiplicity proves that its about to sustain its high-concept balancing act for the entire runtime.

Theres even a Keith David cameo! Thats like having a tiny, perfectly portioned dessert after a hearty meal. Not only that, but no other detail goes unwasted. You could make the argument that Mr. Always Want to Be Hunted is a Mr. Poopybutthole decoy of his own if youre gonna steal, steal from the best but how was the show going to introduce a character like that and not pay off the name? The pairing of him and the episodes first joke (Were gonna kill God) is the most thrilling kind of opening to a story: one that tells you everything thats about to unfold before you even realize it.

Rick and Morty airs Sunday nights at 11:30 p.m. ET on Adult Swim.

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UNDP in Bosnia and Herzegovina supports the first Women Mentoring Network Initiative – Sarajevo Times

Posted: at 9:46 pm

Ms. Steliana Nedera, Resident Representative of UNDP in Bosnia and Herezegovina, participated in launch of the Women Mentoring Network Initiative hosted by Deloitte and Addiko bank. A women-to-women mentoring program aims to empower young women in the early stages of their careers by bringing together more than 100 business women and women in the leading managerial positions in BiH to share their knowledge and experience with them.

Invest time and efforts in continuous learning, communicating effectively and strengthening networks, are three personal strategies for women leaders. said Ms. Nedera to young women participants from Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Tuzla, Mostar, East Sarajevo, Bijeljina, Prijedor, Srebrenik, Visoko, Ilija, Travnik, Kakanj, Teanj, Lukavac, Doboj, Usora, ivinice and Srebrenica. The strategic investment into gender equality pays off! UNDP has gender equality at the heart of its work and through dedicated effort, growing scale and speed, established gender parity across the organization and significant impacts for beneficiaries through its programs, added Ms. Nedera.

Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls is one of six cross-cutting signature solutions identified in the UNDPs Strategic Plan. Besides centrality of gender equality and womens empowerment in UNDPs programming, UNDP has been working with the increasing speed towards a full parity with great success. Support to the Women Mentoring Network initiative comes within a broader context of UNDPs empowerment of women initiatives geared towards elimination of structural obstacles, building of capacities of women leaders and changing social norms that still stand in the way to realizing full leadership potential of women in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Strengthening partnerships, collaborating to leverage each others resources, stimulating innovation are all instrumental in maximising impact and achieving a multiplier effect in the area of gender equality.

Women Mentoring Network is implemented with support of EBRD, IFC, UNDP and RCC, and includes companies across the country and in different sectors, allowing mentees to benefit through both individual mentoring and joint training, acquire knowledge in management, career development, negotiation, networking, and public speaking.

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Marvel redefines Earth’s place in the universe with cosmic X-Men spinoff SWORD #6 – spoilers – GamesRadar+

Posted: at 9:46 pm

One of Marvel's most popular mutants gets a world-shaking new status quo in this week's SWORD #6 which could have implications that reach far, far beyond the boundaries of Krakoa - and which could change the place mutantkind occupies in the Marvel Universe at large.

SWORD #6, from writer Al Ewing and artists Valerio Schiti and Marte Gracia, kicks off with the preview pages that Marvel released prior to the issue, in which Captain America and Doctor Doom discuss the philosophical ramifications of the X-Men having terraformed Mars into Planet Arakko - while the sinister Henry Peter Gyrich seemingly recruits Alpha Flight's James Hudson/Guardian into the anti-mutant group Orchis.

But from there, Abigail Brand drops some stunning revelations about what SWORD and mutantkind in general have in store for Planet Arakko, and her plans may change the entire political landscape of Marvel's cosmic wing - a 'New Age of Space' indeed.

We'll break it all down right now.

Following Captain America and Doom's conversation, in which Doom implies the two may soon be allies against Krakoa and the mutants, we're transported across the stars to the meeting chambers of the Galactic Council, where SWORD leader Abigail Brand is addressing the galactic representatives of the Galactic Rim Collective, Great Kymellia, the House of Rigel, the Z'nrx Empire, the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda, the Kree/Skrull Alliance, the Shi'Ar Empire, the Astrologers of Spartax, the Utopian Kree, and Richard Rider of Earth, who represents human interests but has a lesser position than a full council member.

Brand starts off by discussing the terraforming of Mars into Planet Arakko through mutant power and technology. Though some council members are mostly unimpressed thanks to the limited scale of the feat compared to the interplanetary empires of some council dignitaries, others, including Richard Rider, are upset or even concerned about the implications of mutants taking unilateral action to establish a new home world on Mars.

To win them over, Brand offers every council member in attendance a large quantity of Mysterium, the material that Brand guided Manifold and the other members of SWORD in harvesting from the time/space continuum, which has incredible properties that will aid the economies of all the worlds and empires of the Galactic Council. She suggests the Mysterium be used to create a new galactic currency known as "the Sol," after the name used for Earth's solar system.

Incredulous, Rider asks what Brand wants in return.

Brand responds that SWORD and Krakoa simply want recognition of Sol as a member of the Galactic Council - though with Planet Arakko as the leading world of the system, not Earth, with Earth essentially relegated to being part of Sol rather than its most important planet. Brand states Sol should be led by Planet Arakko because they have a unified world culture of mutants, unlike Earth which is splintered into many political factions and cultures.

As the council members begin to react, Doctor Doom appears, demanding to know, if Planet Arakko is so unified, who is the leader of the planet.

"Who is King of Mars? Who would speak for Sol?" Doom demands.

"Victor, you know my name," comes the demure response, as a slender, gloved hand comes through the Krakoa gate. "You all have heard it whispered. It is Wind-Rider. It is she-who-swam-with-Acanti. It is Hadari Yao."

And with that, the new ruler of Planet Arakko is revealed.

"I am Storm, Regent of Planet Arakko - and I am the voice of Sol!"

As Storm is revealed as the ruler of Planet Arakko, she summons a massive thunderclap to demonstrate the majesty of her royal bearing.

All signs point to Storm's rulership of Planet Arakko being the major development that's been teased for the character since even before 'X of Swords,' which brought Arakko into the mainstream Marvel Universe to begin with.

Ruling a whole planet is no small accomplishment for Storm - and having a mutant as the Galactic representative of Sol, with Earth not even included in the decision making or influence could have unheard of ramifications across the Marvel Universe, well outside of the X-Men's usually private corner. But it won't be Storm's first time as a monarch, which could be exactly why the beloved and formidable mutant may have been chosen to lead Planet Arakko.

Only the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda rejects Brand's offer of Mysterium - which is particularly interesting, considering Storm was once married to T'Challa and sat as queen of Wakanda on Earth. The note offered with their rejection of the Mysterium reads "We have no need of mutant metals," and of course Wakanda is well known for its supply of the mystical metal Vibranium.

That could be the end of it, but it's also worth noting that the last time Storm saw T'Challa, she was stealing an ancestral Wakandan weapon during 'X of Swords'. She later returned it, but her deception soured her relationship with T'Challa - and possibly the relationship between Krakoa and Wakanda as a result.

Part of the issue's backmatter, which consists of a communication written by the Galactic Council's representative from the Kree/Skrull alliance Paibok the Power Skrull to Emperor Hulkling, includes an ominous, if slightly vague portion, which then leads right into the issue's final scene.

"I would strongly consider accepting Krakoa/Arakko's proposal - but not too soon," reads Paibok's missive. "The alliance remains in a position of considerable strength, and by showing restraint, we can bring some pressure to bear on smaller matters - such as the Wanda Maximoff situation, which has yet to be resolved, and which many consider to be an intolerant insult to the dignity of the throne."

From there, the issue jumps to Magneto's chambers on Planet Arakko where he sits alone celebrating his success in spearheading the initiative to create the new mutant home world. He's suddenly joined by - who else? - Wanda Maximoff, apparently at Magneto's personal invite.

Wanda laments the time she spent thinking Magneto was her father before learning the truth that she and her twin brother Pietro are not the children of Magneto at all (at least in comics) and are in fact not even mutants, but genetically engineered beings created by the High Evolutionary.

Magneto states his regret at the way their relationship and his mistreatment of Wanda affected her, and tells her that even though they are not biologically related, he still considers her his daughter - and he'll do anything it takes to make amends with her.

There are a lot of implications to unpack, between the backmatter and the subsequent scene. First off, it's not clear exactly what the embarrassing "Wanda Maximoff situation" Paibok mentions is. Wanda is, of course, Emperor Hulkling's mother-in-law by way of his husband Wiccan, one of Wanda's twin sons whose souls were reincarnated in new human bodies after she lost them.

The "situation" could be as simple as a person known to be as volatile as Wanda, who has used her powers to rewrite reality in villainous ways before, being so close to the throne. Or it could have something to do with the still un-reckoned-with events of Empyre: X-Men, in which Wanda attempted to resurrect the dead population of the former mutant island of Krakoa during the Kree/Skrull alliance's war with the Cotati - an act that resulted in the mutants not being resurrected, but reanimated as necromantic zombies.

As for the part with Magneto, it's worth noting that both Wanda and Magneto have important storylines in the near future, with The Trial of Magneto putting the master of magnetism on the stand for the murder of an unknown victim in August, and the upcoming Darkhold series of annuals pitting Wanda against the dark magic unleashed by the evil tome in September.

How it all shakes out remains to be seen - though Marvel is drawing the web of connections between its upcoming events and stories ever tighter.

This week's Way of X #3 and June 30's X-Factor #10 mark the next chapters of the current 'Hellfire Gala' storyline, while SWORD #7 is due out July 28.

With 'The Hellfire Gala' story wrapping up at the end of June, stay on top of everything coming up for Marvel's entire mutant line with our listing of all the new X-Men comics scheduled for release in 2021 and beyond.

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Marvel redefines Earth's place in the universe with cosmic X-Men spinoff SWORD #6 - spoilers - GamesRadar+

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Todays best iOS + Mac app deals: Door Kickers Action Squad, Agent A, and more – 9to5Toys

Posted: at 9:46 pm

All of Fridays best Mac and iOS app deals to head into the weekend with are now up for the taking. Alongside all of our price drops on games and apps, we also have anew all-time low on Apples gorgeous new 24-inch M1 iMac, deep deals on unlocked iPhones, and even more in our Apple guide. But while youll still find an absolutely massive collection of app deals live from yesterday right here, there are plenty more to add to the list this morning as well. Highlights include titles like Door Kickers: Action Squad, Agent A: A puzzle in disguise, Land and Castles, freebies for the kids, and more. Head below for a complete look at Fridays best iOS and Mac app deals.

iOS Universal: StoryToys Puss in Boots: FREE (Reg. $2)

iOS Universal: Windy White Noise Sleep Sounds: FREE (Reg. $2)

iOS Universal: Emoji Camera unique filters: FREE (Reg. $1)

iOS Universal: StoryToys Beauty and the Beast: FREE (Reg. $2)

iOS Universal: Cribbage HD: FREE (Reg. $6)

iOS Universal: My City : Home: FREE (Reg. $3)

iOS Universal: File Explorer for Mac [Pro]: FREE (Reg. $5)

iOS Universal: Land and Castles: FREE (Reg. $1)

iOS Universal: Door Kickers: Action Squad: $1 (Reg. $3)

iOS Universal: Agent A: A puzzle in disguise: $1 (Reg. $6)

iOS Universal: Away ~ Nature Sounds to Sleep: $1 (Reg. $4)

iOS Universal: Blast Rush: $1 (Reg. $3)

iOS Universal: The Castles of Burgundy: $5 (Reg. $9)

iOS Universal: Steam: Rails to Riches: $3 (Reg. $5)

iOS Universal: Heads Up!: FREE (Reg. $1)

iOS Universal: Bloons TD 6: $1 (Reg. $5)

iOS Universal: Iron Marines RTS Offline: $1 (Reg. $3)

iOS Universal: Bloodstained:RotN: $7 (Reg. $10)

iOS Universal: Ticket to Ride Train Game: $3 (Reg. $7)

iOS Universal: Small World The Board Game: $3 (Reg. $5)

iOS Universal: Terraforming Mars: $6 (Reg. $9)

iOS Universal: Carcassonne Tiles & Tactics: $3 (Reg. $5)

iOS Universal: Pandemic: The Board Game: $3 (Reg. $5)

iOS Universal: Kingdom Rush Vengeance TD: $3 (Reg. $5)

iPad: Kingdom Rush Origins HD: $2 (Reg. $5)

iPhone: Kingdom Rush Origins TD: $1 (Reg. $3)

iPad: Kingdom Rush Frontiers HD: $1 (Reg. $2)

iPhone: Kingdom Rush Frontiers: $1 (Reg. $2)

iOS Universal: Sentinels of the Multiverse: $1 (Reg. $7)

iOS Universal: Door Kickers: $1 (Reg. $5)

iOS Universal: D&D Lords of Waterdeep: $4 (Reg. $8)

iOS Universal: One Deck Dungeon: $2 (Reg. $7)

iOS Universal: Passpartout: Starving Artist: $3 (Reg. $5)

iOS Universal: Smash Up The Card Game: $1 (Reg. $2)

iOS Universal: Scythe: Digital Edition: $6 (Reg. $9)

iOS Universal: Mystic Vale: $2 (Reg. $5)

iOS Universal: Book of Demons: Tablet Edition: $5 (Reg. $10)

iOS Universal: Hidden Through Time: $1 (Reg. $2)

iOS Universal: Evoland 2: $1 (Reg. $6)

iOS Universal: Townsmen Premium: $1 (Reg. $3)

iOS Universal: Talisman: Digital Edition: $1 (Reg. $3)

Door Kickers: Action Squad is a crazy old school side scroller action game that puts you in the role of a SWAT trooper and sends you to deal with the bad guys in Nowhere City USA. Choose your gear, then kick the doors down and face the action. Adapt and react by the seat of your pants, and if needed restart without a care and rethink. Master weapons recoil and time your reloads, use distance and cover to your advantage and use the in-game Strategic Abilities to decide for yourself when healthpacks or gear refills are needed, or if that team-mate of yours is worth saving. Or just save up the Points earned and unleash your Ultimate to waltz through that tricky final room.

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Best new board games of summer 2021 The Madison Leader Gazette – The Madison Leader Gazette

Posted: at 9:46 pm

The early summer months are traditionally a slow period for fans of tabletop games, as big publishers gird their loins for the convention circuit. This year, the pandemics disruption to tabletops annual events calendar has freed things up a bit, and there are a bunch of great games going up for sale this June, July, and August. Weve rounded up all the information that we could, and dropped the most notable new titles here for you.

My personal picks include Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition, which promises to streamline the award-winning strategy board game into a more beginner friendly, one-hour experience. Theres also a ton of new and revised content on the way for Vampire: The Masquerade, which was recently handed off to the capable team at Renegade Game Studio.

Remember that you can pick up just about everything listed below at your friendly local game store as well as online.

I was introduced to the Clever series of games by NPRs Petra Mayer, and Ive since sort of fallen in love with the roll-and-write genre. Players roll a series of multi-colored dice and use them as a kind of shared resource, tallying them on a scorecard with the intention of earning the most points and doing the most harm to their competitors totals. Clever Cubed is getting its first English translation this summer. Copies should be available through the Stonghold Games website soon. Your best bet, however, is probably to drop a dime on your local game store and get it pre-ordered.

Thats So Clever

Prices taken at time of publishing.

The first game in the Clever series of roll-and-write board games.

If youve heard of Czech Games Edition (CGE) then you likely know them from their breakout hit series, Codenames. But tabletop aficionados will also know them for their very first game, Galaxy Trucker. Its a madcap adventure with a frantic real-time ship-building sequence and a turn-based delivery phase. The award-winning formula helped put the publisher on the map back in 2007. CGE is relaunching the game with a brand new edition featuring fresh art and revised rules. Youll find it available for order on the CGE website soon.

Galaxy Trucker

Prices taken at time of publishing.

The original version of Galaxy Trucker is shipping now.

Gravwell on the Gen Con show floor in 2015.Photo: Charlie Hall/The Madison Leader Gazette

Gravwell is one of those high-concept board games that sounds incredibly complex, but is actually quite simple and compelling at the table. Players take on the role of a party of small ships navigating a black hole. With your engines failing, the only way to maneuver is by using tractor and repulsor beams. That means youll have use your neighboring ships as leverage to catapult your own crew to safety. This second edition of the game appears to be a straight reprint, but its well worth your time.

Haba is a household name in Germany with lots of different product lines, but American consumers likely only know them for the bright yellow boxes of their family board games, including mainstays like Rhino Hero and Animal Upon Animal. Haba has a new game coming to the states this summer called Hammer Time, and no it doesnt have anything to do with parachute pants. Players will use a toy hammer to knock gems loose, all while being careful not to wake the sleeping dragon. Pre-orders kick off on Aug. 1, which a retail release set for Aug. 20. Keep an eye out on the official Haba Amazon storefront, or let your local hobby store know youd like a copy when its available.

Germanys biggest board game award, the Spiel des Jahres, unveiled its 2021 nominees in May and among the more traditional titles was an outlier MicroMacro: Crime City. This cooperative game consists of a poster and a deck of cards. Players work together to scour the Wheres Waldo-style map for clues to solve clever little mysteries all around the city. The awards hype made the game hard to find in the spring, but stock has been flowing in sporadically all summer. Keep an eye on the official website, or ping the nearest game store.

Cole Wehrle is a strategy board game designer with a very specific oeuvre. His past games have dealt with the politics of nation-states, but in beautiful and at times cuddly ways. Root: A Game of Woodland Might and Right, for instance, is basically an asymmetrical wargame starring adorable woodland creatures who use guerrilla tactics to fight against an oppressive monarchy. Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile uses some of the same design hooks, but extends the experience out into a longer campaign. Pick this up if youre looking for an engaging solo experience, or have a gaming group eager for a new obsession.

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Based on the hit video game of the same name, Plague Inc. The Board Game is a strategic game of infection, evolution and extinction where players take on the role of viruses with the goal of infecting the world. While this may feel a bit too on the nose given the ongoing global pandemic, its actually a very entertaining way of teaching the broad strokes of modern virology.

Terraforming Mars is a hugely successful strategy board game, but it takes quite a bit of work to get new players up to speed. Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition aims to streamline the onboarding process considerably, all while speeding up playtime as well. This new version began life as a Kickstarter, and went on sale at Target stores on June 20. Expect to find it available on Targets website soon as well.

Terraforming Mars

Prices taken at time of publishing.

The original Terraforming Mars, a competitive strategy game for 1-4 players.

Photo: Pandasaurus

The Loop caught my eye with its quirky, Saturday morning cartoon-style art treatment, and then drew me in with its mechanics. The cooperative game tasks players with stopping the evil Dr. Faux from destroying the galaxy. Players spend energy to create temporal loops, allowing them to use skills over and over again. While the game ships in August, you can peruse the manual online before you decide to place your pre-order.

Kids on Bikes is a tabletop role-playing game that rode the wave of Stranger Things fandom to commercial success. Now theres a spin-off board game set in the same universe called The Snallygaster Situation. The game begins with one player taking on the role of the Lost Kid, whom the other players must rescue from the clutches of the monster of the week. Then its a matter of gathering up enough resources in order to win the day. Expect a charming art style and lots of twists and turns.

Evil Hat Productions (Blades in the Dark, Agon) most anticipated new tabletop role-playing game is called Thirsty Sword Lesbians, and it sounds like an absolute blast to play. Using a ruleset inspired by Powered by the Apocalypse it will help players tell queer stories with their friends. Im especially interested to see how its flirting mechanics work. The game is available as a physical book and as a downloadable PDF.

Alongside Pandemic and Catan, Ticket to Ride remains one of the most newbie-friendly board games around. Players take turns drawing cards and then use them to take trips across the map. Its dead simple to teach, and the base game looks marvelous when its all set out on the table. Ticket to Ride Europe: 15th Anniversary Edition is a collectors dream. It includes metal tins filled with intricate train car playing pieces that can be used with any version of the game. Ive been told this set is only available in limited quantities, so grab your copy before theyre gone.

Photo: Keymaster Games

Much like Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition, Trials is a streamlined version of an even larger game called Parks. The family-friendly board game takes just 20 or 30 minutes to play, and includes beautiful art from the Fifty-Nine Parks project. You can read our full preview from early June right here. The boxed game is available in-store at Target and will soon be available on the Target website.

Parks

Prices taken at time of publishing.

The original Parks strategy game. A portion of the sale of each game helps support the National Park Service.

Image: Paradox Interactive

The latest edition of Vampire: The Masquerade, the classic tabletop role-playing game, got off to a disastrous start by courting several entirely unnecessary controversies. Development has since shifted to Renegade Game Studios, and theyre pushing out a load of new and reprinted material this summer. That includes the core rulebook and the Anarch and Camarilla sourcebooks, which are all currently up for pre-order. If youve been interested in doing something other than medieval fantasy with your TTRPG group, now is the time to hop in. The system is even available via Roll20 for remote or enhanced in-person play.

Ive yet to try my hand at Wrath & Glory, the current iteration of the Warhammer 40,000 role-playing universe, but I have started painting up some Adeptus Mechanicus miniatures. That sudden interest has been brought on by Audibles comprehensive selection of books from the Black Library and the upcoming release of Warhammer Plus, Games Workshops new streaming video service. Cubicle 7 will soon be adding to its own library with Church of Steel, which promises all the inside information on the artificers of Mars. Look for more information soon on the Cubicle 7 website.

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Over 131 temporarily free and on-sale Android apps and games you can snag today – Android Police

Posted: at 9:46 pm

Welcome to Friday, everyone. Thanks to the recent launch of Steam's Summer Sale, we've seen a massive amount of game sales hitting the Google Play Store, and so we have a huge list of sales for the weekend, including a few standouts I'd like to point everyone towards. First up is Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, a solid (but buggy) metroidvania title from the very man who popularized the genre. Next, I have Agent A: A puzzle in disguise, a fantastic point-and-click adventure game that's easily worth the sale price. Last but not least is OK Golf, one of the best golf games currently available on the Play Store. As always, I've highlighted all of the interesting titles in bold green text in order to make discovery easier. So without further ado, here are 25 temporarily free and a whopping 106 on-sale apps and games for the end of the week.

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Daily Crunch: SpaceX announces tentative plans to launch first orbital flight next month – TechCrunch

Posted: at 9:45 pm

To get a roundup of TechCrunchs biggest and most important stories delivered to your inbox every day at 3 p.m. PDT, subscribe here.

Hello and welcome to Daily Crunch for Monday, June 28. How much time did you spend on your phone this weekend? Too much? Not a lot? According to recent data on consumer app spending, you probably spent a pretty fair amount. Consumer spending on apps hit a new record in the first half of the year, though the pace of growth is slowing.

Before we begin, Extra Crunch is on sale this week. Check it out here and support The Good Ship TechCrunch. Alex

To kick off today, were talking about Pittsburgh, a fascinating startup market that TechCrunch is visiting in short order:

Moving to our regular fare, heres more from todays digest of startup happenings:

Many consumers are open to a slick sales pitch, but software developers generally know better.

Successful dev-focused marketing efforts steer these users toward free tools, but unless you know exactly what data to look for and how to measure it, your efforts will have limited impact.

Software companies hoping to connect with developers should treat end users like the go-to-market side of the team, advises Sam Richard, senior director of growth at OpenView, which has invested in companies like Datadog, Expensify and Calendly.

For example: Instead of simply pulling analytics from your production database, what if your GTM team polled stakeholders who touch revenue about the data points they use to make decisions? If you assigned a product manager to address their needs, draft a roadmap and develop an MVP, how much could you learn?

Dont overthink it, says Richard. Selling to developers isnt impossible its just difficult.

(Extra Crunch is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can sign up here.)

TechCrunch is building a shortlist of the top growth marketers in tech. Wed love to hear who youve worked with, so fill out the survey here! Heres one of the many great recommendations weve received:

Name of marketer: Dipti Parmar

Name of recommender: Brody Dorland, co-founder, DivvyHQ

Recommendation: She gave me an easy-to-implement plan to start with clear outcomes and timeline. She delivered it within one month and I was able to see the results in a couple of months. This encouraged me to hand over bigger parts of our content strategy and publishing to her.

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Blackjack Bob is ready for some 21 talk | Gaming Guru | atlanticcityweekly.com – Atlantic City Weekly

Posted: at 9:44 pm

Hitting soft 17 increases the house edge by about two-tenths of a percent.

**Player may double down on any first two cards vs. player may double down only on specific hands:

Its best for players to have more options as long as the players take their time to learn basic strategy and know how to use the options.

Restricting doubles to hard totals of 9, 10 or 11, increases the house edge by about a tenth of a percent, or about two-tenths if theyre restricted to hard 10 or 11.

**Double down after splitting pairs: If the casino doesnt allow you to double after splits, it increases the house edge by .14 percent..

**Players may split pairs, once, twice or three times: If youre allowed to split up to three times for a total of four hands, great. The house edge rises by .01 percent if you can split only twice or .1 percent if you can split only once.

How did Jim take it?

He was doubtful, Bob said. So I used one of your favorite, the house edge calculator at wizardofodds.com.

I defined one game as single deck, dealer hits soft 17, you can double down only on hard 10 or 11, no double after splits, and split pairs only once. I think most online games are continuous shuffle, right? So the house edge with basic strategy is .48 percent.

Then I plugged in six decks, stand on all 17s, double on any first two including after splits, split three times, and the edge came up as .41 percent.

Did the lower edge on the six-deck game convince Jim?

Maybe not, but it at least raised some doubts. And I did my duty.

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